Arabic

Particle

يَا • ‎(yā)

1. vocative particle preceding a noun used in direct address; only rarely omitted in such contexts; occasionally translated as o or hey

   يا كندا!

   yā kanadā!

   O Canada!

   يا كريم...

   yā karīm...

   (Hey) Kareem, ...

   يا حبيبي!

   yā ḥabībī

   Hey my darling!

Usage notes

• In Koranic and to some degree Classical orthography, يَا ‎(yā) was written يَٰـ ‎(yā-) and joined to the following word. Compare the following verse (Surat al-Baqara 55, translation Muhammad Asad).

  (original orthography) وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّٰعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ

  (modernized orthography) وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَى لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ

  And [remember] when you said, "O Moses indeed we shall not believe thee unto we see God face to face!" - whereupon the thunderbolt of punishment overtook you before your very eyes.

Synonyms

• أَيُّهَا ‎(ʾayyuhā), أَيَّتُهَا ‎(ʾayyatuhā)

Derived terms

• يااللّٰه ‎(ya-llāh)

Descendants

• Hindi: या ‎(yā)